Unknown Unknowns in Innovative Projects: Early Signs Sensemaking
| Autor | Rosaria de Fatima Segger Macri Russo - Roberto Sbragia - Abraham Sih Oih Yu |
| Cargo | Universidade Nove de Julho - Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade da Universidade de São Paulo - Instituto de Pesquisas Tecnológicas do Estado de São Paulo |
Available online at
http://www.anpad.org.br/bar
BAR, Rio de Janeiro, v. 14, n. 3,
art. 5, e170060, 2017
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1807-7692bar2017170060
Unknown Unknowns in Innovative Projects: Early Signs
Sensemaking
Rosaria de Fatima Segger Macri Russo1
Roberto Sbragia2
Abraham Sih Oih Yu3
Universidade Nove de Julho1
Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade da Universidade de São Paulo2
Instituto de Pesquisas Tecnológicas do Estado de São Paulo3
Received 17 May 2017; received in revised form 5 September 2017; accepted 14 September 2017;
first published online 24 October 2017.
Editor’s note. Marcos André Mendes Primo served as Action Editor for this article.
R. de F. S. M. Russo, R. Sbragia, A. S. O. Yu 2
BAR, Rio de Janeiro, v. 14, n. 3, art. 5, e170060, 2017 www.anpad.org.br/bar
Abstract
This study aims to understand early signs’ sensemaking relevance to identifying unknown unknowns on innovative
projects. When managing these projects, early signs of changes in the environment, combined with a sensemaking
process, can help identify them prior to their occurrence and mitigate unwanted effects of these uncertainties. To
this end, we conducted a field research to assess 16 projects, totaling 35 events r epresentative of this kind of
uncertainty. Based on in-depth interviews, we performed an initial qualitative analysis, and th en applied non-
parametric statistical tests. Early signs perception in cases where external factors may cause the occurrence of
unknown unknowns show that this perception and the search for information are relevant to identifying unk unks.
Furthermore, some biases, such as overconfidence and unrealistic optimism, can hinder it. There was a high
prevalence of project managers detecting early signs of change in their projects at the beginning of the project.
However, the majority of perceived early signs can be considered to be the first symptoms of a problem. Thus, as
a contribution, we suggest: learning processes, which can provide sensemaking for early signs in unknown
unknowns; project managers stimulating their team to be alert to environmental changes that may affect the project;
and discussion of early signs perceived by the team during stakeholder management.
Key words: unknown unknowns; project management; early signs; sensemaking; project uncertainty.
Para continuar a ler
PEÇA SUA AVALIAÇÃO
COPYRIGHT TV Trade Media, Inc.
COPYRIGHT GALE, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
COPYRIGHT GALE, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
